A Tendo in Gotham
by PurseMonger
Summary: Side stories from Jeremy Harper's Batman-Ranma crossover dealing with Akane's adjustment to Gotham.
1. Laundry Day

**A/N:** As you're aware, I beta for **Jeremy Harper** and am slightly (read: a lot) obsessed with his Batman/Ranma crossover. After _**The Talk** , _we exchanged some emails where I suggested some ideas for small scenes involving Akane's adjustment to living in Gotham. Since he has enough on his plate, he has given me his blessing to write them myself. **  
**

This takes place before ** _The Talk_** and **_Debutante_** (which he is currently working on). I hope you enjoy it.

Disclaimer: I do not own Ranma or Batman and am using both without permission.

* * *

 **Laundry Day**

A week after moving into Wayne manor, Akane headed downstairs carrying a basket full of clothes that needed to be laundered. It had taken her nearly that long to be able to navigate the spacious home, and yet she still had no idea where she was going; she had never seen the laundry room. She was sure she had yet to see most the rooms. She decided to head towards the kitchen where she thought Alfred would most likely be. She found him there looking at the pantry and writing in a notebook.

"Hello, Alfred," she said in greeting.

The butler turned around and smiled at his newest charge.

"Good afternoon, Miss Akane. How are you doing this afternoon? Are you adjusting well?"

The blue-haired girl smiled. He had asked her that each day since she had moved there and it made her feel less lonely having someone there who cared about her wellbeing since she was so far away from home and her family. She had begun thinking of him as a sort of grandfather.

"I'm good, thank you. How are you doing?"

"I'm well. Just making a grocery list. Is there anything that you would like to have for dinner? Or any snacks you would prefer to have? Something from home, perhaps. I can order anything you like."

"No, I'm fine, thank you," she said, touched by his thoughtfulness.

"Well then, what can I do for you?"

"Can you show me to the laundry room? I'd like to get some things washed."

"No need, Miss Akane. I was planning on picking up your laundry later today. It looks like you saved me a trip. If you would just leave the basket, I will have everything cleaned and put away by the end of the day."

"Oh…" she replied a little uneasily.

"Is there a problem?"

"No, it's just that there are…I mean…" flustered she stuttered.

How was she supposed to tell him that she just felt uncomfortable with him washing her bras and panties? It just felt…weird.

"I don't want to be any trouble," she said instead.

"It's no trouble. As you know, it's my job to look after the household, which you are now a part of."

"Yes. It's just that, there are some more… _delicate_ things…that I…"

"Ah, I see," Alfred said as the reason for her discomfort finally dawned on him.

It had been a very long time since he had a female under the roof. Not since Martha Wayne had been alive. She had been accustomed to his taking care of everything, not to mention they had much more help back in those days. He had no experience with adolescent females as he had served the Wayne family his entire adult life and Thomas Wayne was an only child. It would take some getting used to having a young lady living with them.

While he had no issues taking care of her intimates, he had no desire to make her uncomfortable, which she obviously was. He cleared his throat softly.

"Why don't I show you to the laundry room."

"Thank you," Akane said shyly, thankful that she didn't have to explain to herself further.

They walked into the laundry room that consisted of several washers and dryers, cabinets and a counter for folding.

"This is the downstairs laundry area. There is one on the same floor as your bedroom that I will show you later which will be more convenient for you. There is an ironing board that extends from that long cabinet in the back and the iron is stored here," he said as he opened a cabinet to the right of the machines, "along with the detergent and drying sheets."

The blue-haired girl gulped as she looked at the stainless steel machines in front of her. As expected of everything in the Wayne Manor, the washers and dryers were technical marvels, full of gleaming buttons and dials.

Alfred noticed her slightly wary look and decided a quick tutorial was needed. "This might be slightly different than the machines you have at home."

He went over how to turn on the washer, pointing out the different settings: normal, heavy, delicate, cold wash, sheets, and power wash. Power wash? Wasn't that something you did to buildings?

Next he moved to the dryer that had automatic and timed drying. High, medium, low setting. Energy saving, fluff, and permanent press. It was a round dryer. How could it press anything, much less permanently?

She tried to focus when she realized that he was still talking. Something about knife pleats. Knife pleats? Was that some place she was supposed to hide weapons?

"Do you have any questions?" he asked, startling her out of her musings.

"No, no. I should be fine. Thank you," she said giving him a small bow.

The older man gave her a bow in return and left her to her own devices.

Akane looked at the machines with some trepidation. After making such a big deal about doing her own laundry she couldn't admit that she had never done it before. Kasumi had taken care of her clothes since her mother passed. She had never so much as touched the washer at home or given laundry a thought.

But really how hard could it be?

An hour later she somehow ended up flooding the room with water and bubbles. She cleaned it up with the help of Alfred and a certain pig-tailed boy that couldn't stop laughing. When she finally took out her clothes, she realized the entire load had been ruined.

How was she supposed to know you had to separate your colors and shouldn't put an entire gallon of bleach in one wash?

After Alfred shooed Ranma away to save Akane from his continued teasing, he sat her down in the kitchen with a cup of hot tea. She finally admitted the truth to the staid butler and agreed that he should see to the laundry in the future.

After all, she couldn't be more embarrassed than she already was.

* * *

 **A/N:** Big thanks to **Marie Allen** for betaing the story and of course **Jeremy Harper** for writing the series in the first place.


	2. Say Yes to the Dress

**Say Yes to the Dress**

Akane was laying on her bed, reading instructions on the proper way to use a batarang. So far, she had no problem using the grappling gun or most of the other items in her utility belt; although the sheer number of tools at her disposal and where to locate them would take some getting used to. But with the batarang, she was having such a hard time catching it. She could throw it fine, could even find her mark most of the time. Catching it was more difficult than she thought – especially with how easy Ranma and Bruce made it look – and she had the welt on her head to prove it.

She touched her head gingerly, wincing more at the memory of the pain than anything else. With a huff and small pout she picked the book up and turned it at an angle to see if that would give her a better idea of how to catch the batarang. She looked up at the knock on the door.

"Come in," she said and moved to sit on the edge of the bed, placing the manual to the side.

Alfred came in a moment later.

"Miss Akane, I hope I'm not disturbing you."

"Of course not, Alfred. Is there something you needed?"

"Master Bruce would like to see you in the family parlor if you have a moment."

"Of course. Is there anything wrong?"

"Not at all."

Despite his reassurances Akane still felt a little bit of trepidation. She didn't mention it to Ranma but she was a bit – okay, more than a bit – intimidated by Bruce. Bruce Wayne. The billionaire. CEO of Wayne Enterprises. The playboy who dated movie stars, models, and socialites from around the world. There had even been a rumor he dated a princess! She had heard about him for years. Even in Tokyo he was famous for his charm and good looks.

If that weren't intimidating enough, he was Batman. THE Batman. The Dark Knight. He was reputed to be merciless to criminals but had never needed to kill a single villain. The crime fighter, who despite not having special powers, was part of the Justice League.

She didn't know which persona she found more intimidating. And she was _living_ in his house. She was being _trained_ by him.

It was surreal.

The crime-fighter-in-training left her room with Alfred following shortly behind her and headed towards the stairs.

"Miss Akane, did you need something downstairs?"

She paused and the turned around. "No. I'm headed to the parlor."

"I see the confusion. The main parlor, where we greet guests, is on the main level. However, the family parlor is on the second floor. If you would head this way," he gestured to the left, "it's down the hall and to the right."

"Thank you, Alfred."

Akane gave him a little bow as she changed direction, a little embarrassed. Wayne Manor was so large that she was still getting lost. At least she could consistently find her way to the entrance of the Batcave, the kitchen, the dining room, and Ranma's room. She blushed a little as she thought of her fiance.

She tried to school her face into an impassive mask before reaching the parlor using part of her superhero training. She was surprised that her training included controlling her emotions, which included her facial expressions. Batman (she thought of him as that during training) had said it was important not to give away your inner thoughts when interacting with criminals. Plus, he added with an amused smile, the masks combined with the straight face usually made the bad guys wet their pants.

Reaching the parlor, Akane froze in at the sight that greeted her. Racks upon racks of clothing filled the room. They were full of every kind of dress you could imagine: short, long, elegant, princessy, shiny, sleek, and everything in between. They were ruthlessly organized by color and length, making the room look like a fabric rainbow, except for a couple of racks in the corner that seemed to be full of casual clothes.

Mouth agape, she walked towards Bruce, who was standing there speaking casually to two people. Seeing her out of the corner of his eye, he turned to greet her.

"Akane, I hope I didn't interrupt anything."

"No, I was just doing some reading."

"Good, this is Amanda and Michael, who will be assisting us today."

"Hello," she said in greeting, beginning to bow before she remembered she needed to shake their hands. Afterwards she turned her attention to Bruce. "What exactly will they be helping us with?"

"Finding you a dress for the charity ball that we are hosting soon. Amanda is a stylist and Michael is a tailor who can pin and alter anything you like."

"Oh," she said as scanned the room again. That explained the dresses. "Umm…you really didn't have to go to all that trouble."

"It was no trouble at all. Ranma and I already have tuxes but Alfred mentioned you didn't bring any gowns with you."

 _Because I don't have any at all,_ she thought.

 _"_ Well, thank you," she said sincerely.

"I wasn't sure what you would like, so I had Amanda pull all the dresses she had available in your size."

"Wow," was the only thing that she could think of saying.

"You should pick out several dresses, one for the upcoming party, but also a selection for future events."

She had never seen these many dresses in one place, not even in the large department stores Tokyo had to offer. She felt a little overwhelmed and out of her depth.

"I was just planning to go to the mall to pick something up," she added with nervous laugh.

Bruce frowned as a thought came to him. Girls _liked_ shopping, didn't they? They made plans together as a way to hang out with their girlfriends. Especially, teenage girls like Akane. And he knew she needed some fun in her life with all the stress she had been under with the move and all the training she was beginning. Why hadn't he thought about that sooner? He thought he was simplifying things by arranging this fitting but was he actually taking away her fun?

"Oh. Well if you prefer to go shopping with…Donna," he said, assuming she would want to spend time with the Teen Titan that she got along so well with, "of course you can do that instead."

"No, it's okay. I'll just pick something out here. I'm sure I'll find something as they all look beautiful." She really didn't want to seem ungrateful for everything he had done.

"In case you change your mind, you will need this."

Bruce reached into his pocket and pulled out a credit card, handing it to her.

"I can't take your credit card," she said frantically, waving her hands in front of her.

"It's not my credit card, it's yours."

"I don't understand," she said, her eyes furrowed. She took the card and her eyes widened when she saw it had her name printed on the front under the Bank of Gotham logo. "I…I can't take this." Eyes wide she tried to hand the card back to the billionaire.

He smiled at her before turning to the two people who had been watching the scene with rapt attention while trying to keep detached, professional expressions on their faces.

"If you'd excuse us."

It was a clear dismissal and the two moved to the far side of the room.

"Akane, while you live under my roof, I am responsible for you. That includes paying for your school, food, and clothing."

"But…" she sputtered trying to think of a reasonable objection. It just didn't feel right to her.

Bruce smiled to himself. He had been wary about the entire situation involving that bastard Genma and Ranma's forced engagement to one of the Tendo girls. He had been hesitant when Ranma came up with the plan to train Akane in Gotham but respected, even admired his decision to help her. But, not having gotten to spend much time with the blue-haired girl, he didn't know what to think of her. It was obvious that his charge was smitten with the girl, so Ranma's good opinion seemed biased. Alfred had spent more time with her and had only positive things to say, which made Bruce optimistic about the whole situation. But being who he was, he remained skeptical.

Now, seeing Akane flustered and so uncomfortable with the idea of using any of the Wayne billions made the remaining doubt he had disappear. He fully relaxed for the first time around her, enjoying her discomfort. He could see now why Ranma was so enamored with her.

"Do you plan on paying for your own crime fighting uniform?"

Akane blinked, surprised at the question.

"Uh…I…"

"Because I have to tell you that kevlar is very expensive. As are the weapons, Batcycles, and computer equipment. All of this," he said gesturing to the house in general, "the money, the cover, gives us the opportunity to do what we do.

"The covers, the lives we live in public, are necessary to keep suspicion away from us. Maintaining those identities take a lot of work, and yes, a lot of money. There will be countless functions that you will have to attend as my ward. Think about these dresses as another crime fighting costume, because believe me, attending some of those event will feel like going into battle."

Akane smiled a little at his joke. He had made some really good points. She had never really thought about the importance of their secret identities but realized how vital they were. Before she met him, she would never have guessed the carefree playboy Bruce pretended to be could actually have been the intimidating Batman. Nor has she thought of the dress she had to wear as a crime fighting costume. From that perspective, having him pay for her clothing didn't feel so weird.

She tucked the card into her pocket. "Thank you," she said and hoped he understood she was talking about more than just the money.

"You're welcome. Go crazy. Buy some shoes, maybe a handbag. Just try to keep it under a million."

She would have spluttered at the amount but he said it so easily and with such a grin that was so much like Ranma's that she knew he was teasing her.

"It'll be hard but I think I can manage," she said with a roll of her eyes. "I do have one question though, I understand all the dresses, but what about the two racks of clothing to the side?"

His lips twitched and his eyes twinkled. "Oh, a little birdy told me that you had some trouble with the washer last week and I thought you could use some new things."

Her face turned red in embarrassment before she narrowed her eyes at his choice of words. A little birdy? Ranma was _so_ gonna get it.

* * *

 **A/N:** When reading _The Talk_ I noticed that Bruce and Akane were very comfortable with each other and it made me wonder how that happened. This is the result. I hope you all enjoyed it.

Big thanks to **Marie Allen** for being an awesome beta, she's got some great suggestions. Also thanks again to **Jeremy Harper** who inspired this little plot bunny.


	3. In Stark Contrast

**In Stark Contrast**

Wandering down the hall, Bruce Wayne found himself with a free hour. There was a litany of things he could handle - there always was when you ran a multinational business and lived a double life as a crime fighter - but nothing pressing that couldn't wait for later. He decided to take the time to enjoy a book and headed towards the library. Opening the door, he stopped cold in his tracks.

He blinked. Then blinked again. He closed the door and took a step back. Bruce looked left and then right down the hall. This was definitely the right house. Maybe he imagined it. Or maybe he had some small seizure and imagined the entire thing. That would make sense and was somehow comforting.

Putting his hand on the doorknob he took a deep breath and opened the door again. Even expecting it, his eyes went wide. It was definitely real.

Maybe a portal to some alternate reality formed overnight and this was the entrance. It seemed a like perfectly plausible explanation given his experience. Being a detective, he decided to investigate cautiously. He walked, his gaze slowly panning left to right, up and down, taking it all in.

That's how Alfred found his oldest charge, looking utterly befuddled, which was a rare occurrence.

"Master Bruce, is there something wrong?"

"You tell me. What happened in here? The room is all...all..." he waved his hands in a vague confused way and gestured to the room at large.

Alfred's eyebrow quirked in amusement. "I believe the word you're looking for is 'pink', sir. Although, there are also some teal and white accents." When he only got a blank stare in return, the butler added dryly, "And gray, if that makes you feel better."

Bruce only shook his head. "Why is the library now..." The crime fighter cringed and looked around again.

"Pink, sir. You can say it. It won't burn your tongue, I promise you."

Bruce narrowed his eyes, fully aware of how much Alfred was enjoying his discomfort.

"Yes, but why is it pink?" Although it didn't burn his tongue it felt very weird to say and even weirder to stand in it.

"See, that wasn't so painful was it?" Without waiting for a response, he continued. "Master Ranma is concerned that Miss Akane is missing her father and her sisters and feels a bit homesick. Since we can't take the time to send her home in the midst of all her training and school, he thought we should do something to make her feel less lonely. He suggested, and I agreed, that she would enjoy having a slumber party with her girlfriends as she is undoubtedly not used to living with three men. Donna and Marinette will be coming over tonight. I believe I sent you a memo about it."

"Yes, I do remember reading that. It just slipped my mind." He frowned then. "I didn't realize she was having a difficult time, she seems to be adjusting well." He wouldn't admit it but he had developed quite the soft spot for his newest ward. If she were feeling lonely and this would help, he supposed he could deal with all the pink.

"She is adjusting very well considering everything she has to deal with and she is hardly one to complain but you know how in-tune Master Ranma is to her feelings. She was very excited about the idea when he asked her about it, even if she would not have asked for this herself."

Yes, Bruce knew exactly how 'in-tune' Ranma was with Akane. It pleased him that they were both so enamored with each other. He had never seen Ranma so happy and it was fun watching the relationship grow. Plus, it gave him tremendous pleasure embarrassing them since they were both so easily flustered.

"Well it looks..." He couldn't say 'great' with a straight face. "I hope she enjoys her night and appreciate all the effort you put into decorating for her."

"It was no trouble at all, sir."

Bruce highly doubted that. He also knew Ranma wasn't the only one enamored with Akane. Alfred had taken on the role of grandfather in Akane's eyes, being a confidant and someone she would go to for advice. It was a role he seemed to cherish. Now that the shock had worn off, the caped crusader scanned the room again, picking up on some of the details he missed.

On one side of the library there was a manicure station, a salon station, and pedicure chair set up. Knowing Alfred, he had most likely arranged for some cosmetologist to come in and pamper the girls. On the other side of the room a small projector and screen was set up. Surrounding it were large bean bags, throws, and pillows. And in the center of the room were three white canopy beds forming a little "u", each looked identical but had their own little touches. The bed on the left had a bedspread covered grey, white, and pink polka dots with a cute little ladybug stuffed plush in the middle, obviously for Marinette. The bed on the right had a comforter covered had in stars with tiny stars hanging from the canopy and a large star pillow in the center, obviously for Donna. The one in the middle had a simple blanket on it and in the center of the bed was a large decorative pillow with...with a pink bat signal.

He closed his eyes and shuddered. A pink bat signal? It was just _so_ wrong. He opened his eyes and angled away from the beds so he didn't have to see that image ever again but he swore it would play in his nightmares.

"Is there anything I need to do?" The crime fighter asked. While it was Akane's party he didn't know if he had any duties as host.

"No, you do not have to change your plans for the evening, everything has been arranged."

"Well maybe I should stay close by, just in case." It felt vaguely odd, the idea that the house would be full of teenage girls. He was technically all of their chaperones for the evening and one thing he took seriously was his responsibilities.

Alfred's eyebrow quirked in amusement. "And what do you think is going to happen?"

"I don't know, do I? We've never had a slumber party here." He racked his mind. "Panty raids maybe?"

That got a small chuckle from the Alfred. "I feel sorry for any males idiotic enough to try to invade this house tonight." When Bruce looked like he was going to say something, Alfred put his hand up to stall him. "Master Ranma has planned a training mission to keep Garfield busy this evening. Roy will be going them to help keep an eye on Garfield and they will also be taking young Adrien, so he doesn't get bored. I will be here in case there are any emergencies."

"Alright, but we should probably put the house security on high."

Alfred nodded his agreement, even though he felt the measure unnecessary.

"I'll be in the Batcave if you need me."

They turned to see Akane standing in the doorway wide-eyed.

"Miss Akane, I hope you find everything to your satisfaction."

"Wow," was all she could manage to say as she walked into the room.

When Ranma mentioned her having a sleepover, she simply thought that Marinette and Donna would come over to watch a movie and hang out in her room. _This_ though, was beyond her wildest dreams as she could never have come up with something so lavish and beautiful. Pink wasn't her favorite color as it was a bit girly for her but Alfred managed to make it also feel grown up and sophisticated. It made her feel so special that he would go through so much trouble for her. She took another moment to take it all in before turning to the butler.

"Thank you so much, Alfred. It's perfect, more than perfect."

She smiled at him then, her eyes bright and shining. If Ranma were there, the look would have made him weak in the knees. For Alfred, the look made the straight-faced gentleman smile, his eyes going soft.

He cleared his throat. "You are very welcome."

Bruce smiled seeing his newest ward so excited and awed by the decor. She wasn't the only one happy, Alfred seemed to be rather pleased by her reaction himself. And if the caped crusader were to guess, Ranma would also be _very_ happy once Akane showed him her gratitude for coming up with the idea. If having the library turned pink for a night made the entire household happy, then he guessed it was worth it.

"I can't believe you did all this. The little salon, the movie theatre, the beds, and the pink Gerber daisies everywhere!"

"I know you're partial to the yellow ones..."

"No, these are perfect. Thank you, again. I can't tell you how much this means to me." She really couldn't as she was afraid it would cause her to cry, embarrassing them all. She turned to Bruce, who had a thoughtful expression on his face. "Thank you, Bruce."

He smiled back. "You're welcome, but I didn't do anything."

"You have, truly," she said referring to much more than the room. It seemed he understood because his face softened. Then she gave him the same smile she gave Alfred and the heart that the Joker and Penguin would swear he didn't have, melted.

The doorbell rang then and the three went to greet their guests. Walking back down the hall next to a beaming Akane, Bruce looked around the house with a different perspective.

* * *

The following week, Alfred picked up the last vase on his cart and put it on Akane's bedside table. Earlier he had signed for two dozen flower arrangements ordered by Bruce - all bright and colorful, full of various flowers - and had placed them throughout the house. He adjusted the last bunch, a particularly cheerful bouquet of yellow daisies he knew was meant for this room in particular.

He smiled and wondered how Akane would feel knowing she had both members of the Dynamic Duo wrapped around her little finger.

* * *

 **A/N:** This was inspired by **Marie Allen** who mentioned that not only would Akane need to adjust to living in Gotham but everyone in Wayne Manor would have to adjust to her living with them. Let's face it, Wayne Manor is a bit on the dreary side and it's fun thinking of her bringing some color into their lives, both metaphorically and literally. Big thanks to **Marie Allen** for the idea and for betaing the story for me and **Jeremy Harper** for the writing the original story.

This takes place after **_The Talk_** _and_ directly after **_In Which Roy and Donna Try to Kill Ranma_ _._**

Like it? Love it? Hate it? Leave a review and let me know!


	4. Damsel in Distress

**Damsel in Distress**

Ranma burst through the doors of Wayne Manor. "Alfred! Bruce!" he screamed as he ran, throwing off his backpack and Akane's to the ground. He took the stairs two at a time, a crumpled piece of paper squeezed tightly in his hand. "Alfred! Bruce!" he bellowed again.

 _Where are they?_

Alfred stepped into the hall, looking alert and ready to deal with any emergency despite the feather duster in his hand. "Master Ranma, whatever is the matter?" he asked, his even tone belaying his concern. He had never seen the young man so agitated.

"It's Akane. She's been kidnapped!" he said waving the piece of paper in his hand.

Alfred's eyes widened with shock. "Miss Akane has been kidnapped? Impossible." He grabbed the paper from Ranma's hand, reading the note written in a clichéd mix of cut out newsprint. His color went paler with each word of the short missive he read.

 _We have Akane Tendo. We want five million in cash. We will call you at 5 with instructions. If you want her back unharmed, don't contact the police._

The butler froze as fear gripped his heart, then shook it away. Standing there was not going to help.

"Master Bruce is in his office."

The words had no sooner left his mouth than Ranma was running down the hall with Alfred following swiftly after.

"Bruce!" Ranma screamed as he opened the office doors. The billionaire looked up in alarm as his ward stopped in front of his desk, slamming his palms on the desk, his blue eyes wild and full of fear. "Akane has been kidnapped!"

Bruce flew up from his seat. "What?"

"She's been kidnapped!" Ranma said again.

Alfred walked up next to him then and handed the ransom note to Bruce who read it quickly, then asked, "Where did you find this?"

"In her backpack. She was supposed to be meeting some friends after school but when I ran into them, they told me she never showed up. I went back to the school and found her bag sitting outside the gate and the note inside. We need to do something!"

 _Why don't they understand?_ Ranma thought franticly. All the way home he could imagine all the things that could be happening to her. A pretty girl being tied up and taken against her will. For the second time now, he feared she would have flashbacks to Kuno attacking her. Or worse, experiencing it again. _Why does she keep doing this to me?_ he thought as the other situations she had been put through came back to him.

"We will. Alfred will go to the safe in the Batcave and pull out five million and put it in a large black duffel…"

"You're going to just _give_ those bastards the money and let them get away with this? We need to get her back and then kick their butts!"

"Ranma, calm down." While he kept his voice low, the barely contained rage was evident in the way he whipped the words out. "Panicking is not going to help her. I don't care about the money as long as she stays safe. Trust me, they won't have enough time to enjoy it. We're going downstairs to gear up. Alfred, you're going answer the call and then do the drop. Give them anything they want. We'll shadow you and follow the kidnappers back to their hideout. You head back here…"

"I certainly will not."

"Excuse me?"

"I will not come back here to do nothing."

"We need someone here. What if they call here after taking the money? I highly doubt they'll be taking her to the drop off point and handing her back to us."

"Then I will forward the calls to where ever we are. I can be of more use to you in the field. You cannot expect me to just sit here and wait while Miss Akane is in danger."

"Yes, I can!"

"Why, because I am a useless old man?"

"That's not it and you know it. You aren't trained to be in the field…"

"Not against super villains but I can hold my own against common lowlife criminals."

"How do you know…?"

"Enough!" Ranma said, breaking up what was the closest thing to an argument the two ever had. "Bruce, he's right. We can't expect him to just sit around and do nothing." The young superhero understood completely need to do _something._

"Fine." Bruce grit his teeth in frustration that was hiding the fear that threated to overwhelm him. He could stand against one of them but not both. "You can follow in the mobile unit but you will wear Kevlar." The last thing he needed was another person he cared for hurt or in trouble.

"Yes, sir." Alfred was not going to mention the extra 'precautions' he was going to take along with him.

"I'm going to call the Titans HQ and tell them what's happened. I'm sure they are all gonna want to help. Donna and Roy are close enough that they can be here before the deadline and Wally will probably get here before I'm done with the call. I know they'd all want to be there for the rescue."

"Rescue? Who's in trouble?"

The three men whipped around at the question to see Akane standing in the doorway. Ranma rushed forward to pull her into a bone-crushing hug. "You're safe. You're safe," he whispered into her ear.

"Of course I am. Why wouldn't I be?" she asked, a blush creeping over her face. Having Ranma pressed against her, holding her so close was causing butterflies to form in her belly. She wasn't used to such displays of affection, especially public ones and could only pat him comfortingly on the back.

Ranma pulled back and looked at her incredulously. "You were kidnapped!"

"Oh, that." She waved her hand in a dismissive gesture. "It was nothing."

"Nothing? Nothing!" the young superhero spluttered.

Alfred placed a calming hand on his shoulder. Now that Akane was home safe and sound, looking no worse for wear other than being a little mussed, the butler was no longer panicked.

"What happened?" Bruce asked.

"I escaped," she said simply with a shrug of her shoulders. It seemed pretty obvious.

Sensing another outburst, Alfred squeezed Ranma's shoulder.

"Yes, but _how_ did you escape?" Before she could answer he added, "Actually, it may be best if you start from the beginning. Please take a seat."

Bruce sat back down behind his desk. Now that his newest ward was safe, he had calmed, making it considerably easier to think. There were plenty of questions he needed answered, the most important being: who would have to pay for this transgression? Alfred, who preferred to stand, took up position at the end of the table leaving the teens to sit in the two chairs facing the desk.

"I had plans to work with some girls on a project after school. We were supposed to go together after class but I had to stay behind to talk to one of my teachers. When I was done I headed towards the coffee shop where we were supposed to meet and had gone two blocks when a black van pulled up next to me. Two men rushed out, grabbed me, and threw me in the back. They covered my face and tied my hands up. When we stopped, two of them perp walked me up some stairs. They pulled the sack off my head and shoved me into an empty room. I got the binds off and found that the window was unlocked, so I jumped down."

"You jumped from a two story window?" Ranma asked incredulously. He had seen her handle that height in practice but usually with the help from a grapnel.

"It wasn't that far a drop, really. Forty-five or fifty feet." When the pig-tailed boy raised an eyebrow at her she added, "Sixty tops."

Ranma shook his head and then pinched the bridge of his nose. Bruce was quite surprised with his self-restraint. While Ranma normally kept his cool in the direst circumstances, he tended to be a little high strung when it came to the blue-haired girl.

"When I reached the ground, I was just going to escape but then realized that it might blow my cover if it looked like I jumped that far. I am supposed to be an average exchange student, after all. So I decided to stage my own rescue. I found a guard and knocked him out from behind. I took his jacket and after putting it on, found a mask in his pocket. I put that on and then I went towards the front, taking out the guards one by one as I went. When I got inside, there were five or six guys there who were surprisingly easy to take out. When I got to the room where they were keeping me, there was only one guard on the door. How weak am I supposed to be? One guard," she said in disgust, insult bristling through her tone. "There were only about twenty men there. I tied everyone up and then called 911 to report all the illegals and guns lying around the warehouse. It really didn't take me that long to get away, honestly."

"Then what took you so long? It's been hours since you were taken!" Ranma asked feeling a torrent of emotions. He was pissed that someone had dared to kidnap her, relieved that she was okay, and frustrated beyond belief that he didn't get to beat any of them within an inch of their lives.

"Oh. Well…" Akane blushed again. "I stole one of their cars to get away but I…I don't know how to drive and kind of…crashed the car." Next to her Ranma took a deep calming breath. "But don't worry! I'm fine." He took another deep breath. "I was wearing my seat belt," she said proudly. He took two deep breaths.

Seeing his response she decided it was best not to mention the totaled car in flames on the side of the road.

"After that I had to walk home. I would have ran back but I'm wearing my ballet flats and it was uncomfortable."

"But you could jump down fifty feet in them with no problem," he commented dryly.

"You handled yourself very well, Akane," Bruce said interrupting what would be an argument. "You kept your cool, found a way to escape, and took down the bad guys while keeping your secret identity intact. You should be proud of yourself." The caped crusader had been pleased with how well she was progressing in her training before this but now, he was ecstatic. Or as ecstatic as he ever got. She was doing better than he could have ever hoped.

He wasn't the only one full of pride. Alfred listened to her story with rapt attention, thoroughly awed by the young girl's wit, determination, and skill. What would have been a traumatic and harrowing experience for anyone else, only proved to be a chance for her to shine.

Ranma, despite his mixed feelings, was also impressed by how well she did. When it came down to it, she was home safe and that was what really mattered.

Akane could only blush in response; she wasn't used to being praised for her martial arts skill. "Thank you," she said shyly. "So, who are we going to rescue?" asked curiously.

Bruce smiled widely. "We were here planning to rescue you, but since you did such an admirable job rescuing yourself, our plans are superfluous."

Her eyes widened and her mouth formed a little 'o' of understanding. "I'm sorry. I was hoping to get back before you noticed I was gone. How did you find out, anyway?"

"I ran into the girls you were supposed to meet up with. When they told me you never showed up, I ran back to school and found your backpack with the note inside."

"Oh good, you found my backpack! I was worried about that."

Ranma mumbled something under his breath.

"If you don't need me for anything, I'm going to clean up before dinner," Akane announced.

When there were no objections, she left, leaving the three men alone. They sat there in silence until it became obvious that no one was willing to discuss their personal panic attacks.

Alfred was the first to speak. "If you need me, I have some dusting to finish. Dinner will be served at the usual time."

"I'm headed to the training room," Ranma announced as he got up. He still had the overwhelming urge to hit something and was going to focus that energy on the weight bag.

Bruce nodded and went to work. The first order of business was finding out who instigated the kidnapping and then making sure they never tried it again. The second order of business was scheduling driving lessons for Akane.

* * *

When she was kidnapped again a few weeks later, the Bruce, Alfred, and Ranma were better prepared and only slightly less frantic. Partially due to the fact that she was able to get home much quicker, having had learned to drive by then.

* * *

 **Omake:** Akane was both nervous and excited. She had her brand new driver's license in her pocket (passed both the written and driving portion with flying colors). She clasped her hands together under her chin and gave him her most winning smile.

"Can I please drive?"

Surprised, Bruce was about to say no but when he looked into those big brown eyes, full of hope, he just couldn't go through with it. Unable to fight against the onslaught of cuteness, he silently hands over the keys.

The blue-haired girl grabbed them, jumping up and down in delight and squealed, "Thank you, thank you, thank you!" Then she ran quickly to the car before he could change his mind.

Next to Bruce, Ranma stood, mouth agape before turning furious eyes on his mentor. "What the hell? You've never let me drive the Batmobile!"

* * *

 **A/N:** This one show was inspired by **Mingyu** 's review, saying he would feel sorry for anyone who tried to mess with Akane. Probably not what he had in mind but it's what the plot bunnies planted in my head. The omake was written as a joke to **Pata Hiraki** in response to his review but it seemed to work with the rest of this. Poor Akane can't help but be a target for kidnappers, both in canon and in this AU. I hope you liked it!

This takes place after Say Yes to the Dress and before Debutante.

Thank you **Mingyu** and **Pata Hiraki** for the ideas, **Jeremy Harper** for his help with the characterizations, and **Marie Allen** for beta reading!


	5. Ace

**Ace**

It was a sunny spring day that found Akane and Ranma sitting in the park. Or more accurately, kissing in the park. It was a Saturday and instead of training - as they had been doing more often than not - they decided to enjoy the break from the rain. They were glad to have a chance to spend time together outside the mansion, Batcave, school, and the Titans. They loved what they did but it was nice taking a break once in a while.

Especially when it allowed them to be alone together.

It was always felt a little weird for Akane to show such public displays of affection, being from Japan. But when she was with Ranma, she seemed to forget herself completely, especially when he was kissing her. The feel of his firm lips moving against hers, the way his hand ran through her hair and their bodies were pressed ever so slightly against each other, and the taste of him [made her forget about propriety.

Ranma was just as lost. He had never felt this way about a girl before and was always surprised when his good sense seemed to go out the window when she was near. There was a constant need, a constant want to touch her. To feel her soft skin. Her soft hair. Her soft lips. Everything about her was so soft, which was probably why he had a constant need touch her.

They were so engrossed in each other that they didn't sense the person coming quickly upon them until it was too late. One moment Akane's handbag was next to her and the next it was gone. They were trained superheroes though – well one still in training – and it only took a split second for their batsenses to tingle. They broke apart and accessed the situation quickly.

"Hey!" Akane yelled after the thief.

Damn it, she _liked_ that purse. The blue-haired girl began sprinting after the thief riding away on the scooter before Ranma fully realized what happened. He began giving chase, quickly catching up to Akane, who was a little slower than him normally but had a definite disadvantage in her cute but utterly useless flats.

 _Women and their shoes_ , he thought wryly, conveniently ignoring the fifty or so pairs he had in his closet. He made a mental note to talk to her about her choice of footwear when out. He glanced back to see an absolutely livid look on his girlfriend's face. If she caught up with the robber, the thief was going to rue the day he was born. Ranma kicked it up a notch; he wanted the guy caught, not in a body cast.

Despite their best effort, the scooter was pulling away, the thief turned his head around laughing at them. Suddenly a black blur came from their right and leapt into the air, hitting the mugger right in the side and sending him tumbling off the scooter. The two rolled in the grass, stopping a few feet away, his hood falling off to reveal he was actually a she; a young teenage girl. When they stopped she tried to scramble to her feet but the black mass jumped on her and growled in her face. With a scared look she put her arms up in defense, laying her head on the ground. After one last growl, the animal jumped off the thief's chest and took Akane's bag into its mouth, and headed towards Ranma and Akane. The thief the opportunity to get back on her scooter and rushed off.

The thing…it could have been anything, really. A cat. A dog. A raccoon. A moving ball of mud. A small mutant. An alien. Really, it was anyone's guess as far as Ranma was concerned – trotted along with its tail wagging happily in the air. The crime fighters, who had slowed to a walk as they watched the scene play out before them, completely ignored the thief as they were trying to figure out the mystery before them. The thing stopped when it got in front of Akane, dropped her purse in front of her feet then sat on its haunches and looked at up at her calmly. Akane crouched down and picked up her bag, noticing it was no worse for wear, and she could barely see the indents of teeth marks on its surface.

Smiling widely, she cooed at the thing, "Aww! Aren't you the smartest, bravest, little thing."

No longer able to hide its excitement, it barked excitedly, running in a small circle, and impressed them both by doing a series of back flips. The blue-haired girl giggled in delight, then scooped up the dog – the barking had finally told Ranma it was a canine – and brought it up level to her face. The dog licked her face in excitement, causing Akane to squeal. She let this go on for a bit, clearly enjoying it before she tucked the mutt into her arms, cradling it tightly to her chest.

"You're the cutest little thing! Yes, you are!"

Ranma thought 'cute' was a generous description for the mutt. And it _was_ a mutt, he could see that clearly under the dirty, mudded, matted black hair. His – the proof of sex was clear with the way the dog was being held – eyes were two different colors, one a startling light blue and the other brown. He had one snaggletooth that stuck up over his lip and, in his excitement, his tongue lolled out stupidly on the other side. Even though the mutt looked to be about 25 to 30 pounds, the crime fighter was sure it was mostly terrier, part boxer, part husky, and part…probably every breed you could think of. But the dog _did_ get Akane's bag back and Ranma realized he should be rewarded. He reached out to pet it but yanked his hand away when it snapped and growled at him. The blue-haired girl pulled the dog away, closer to her chest.

"It's okay. That's Ranma, he's a friend. He's not a bad man," Akane said to the dog, trying to calm him down. Looking towards Ranma, she added, "He must think you're a thief, too." The irony was not lost on her and she couldn't suppress the grin on her face.

Ranma only stuck his hands in his pockets and rolled his eyes. "Does that thing have a collar?"

"No, I already checked. What should we do with him?"

"Take him to the pound." At the horrified look that came over her face he quickly added, "To see if someone has called around for him. He's obviously trained and belongs to someone."

"Of course, you're right. We should find its owner."

Contrary to her words, Akane seemed to hold the dog tighter to her. He had a bad feeling in the pit of his stomach.

* * *

When they got to the pound, there were no calls about the lost dog and he didn't have a chip to help them locate his owners. The pound offered to take the mutt, but Akane wouldn't hear it and insisted they would take the dog home. They left their contact information with the staff in case anyone called in for the dog, then left.

When they were well clear of the door, she said, "I'm sorry, I just couldn't leave him there." She pulled the dog closer to her. "That place was awful. It was so depressing."

While the place was clean enough and the staff seemed to be caring, she hated seeing those poor animals locked up in cages. Most of them looked so sad. Ranma didn't blame her; he had the same thoughts while in the pound.

"Do you think Bruce or Alfred will mind?" she asked worriedly.

"Nah, don't worry about it. After we tell them the story, I don't think they will. Besides, I'll bet he's house trained."

"Okay. We should take his picture and make some posters. Put them up around town. Maybe someone will call about him. I can only imagine how worried your mommy is," she said addressing the last part to the dog.

"That's a good idea but we should probably give him a bath first. He's filthy." He watched as she only held the dog closer to her, uncaring of how dirty her clothes were getting. "So, what should we call him?"

"Huh?"

"We have to call him something while he is with us. We can't just call him pup or boy."

"Oh, you have a good point. Do you think he'll respond?"

"He seems pretty smart but there's only one way to find out. Why don't you pick a name?"

After a brief moment's thought she moved the dog to face level and said, "P-Chan? You like that name?" The dog licked her face enthusiastically causing her to giggle. "P-Chan it is then." She settled the dog back against her chest.

"P-Chan?"

"Yeah. P for puppy and Chan for cute."

* * *

When they got to Wayne Manor, Akane took the dog immediately to her room to bathe him. While she didn't care about the state of her clothes, she didn't want the dog to ruin the pristine house. She knew Alfred took pride in the state of their home.

So when the genteel butler walked into the bathroom while she was giving the dog a bath, having been drawn there by the barking and laughter, he stood momentarily stock still as he took in the surroundings. There were bubbles everywhere but also spots of dirt sprayed on the walls from when the dog shook himself after first being sprayed with water. A consummate professional, the only sign of shock on the butler's face was the widening of his eyes. He cleared his throat to alert the youngest Tendo to his presence.

"Oh, hi Alfred!" she exclaimed then winced as the dog splashed her with more water.

"Good afternoon, Miss Akane. Who is your little friend?"

"This is P-Chan!" She lunged forward to grab the dog who suddenly tried to jump out of the tub in attempt to greet Alfred. "We found him in the park." After struggling to get him back in, she wiped her brow. "Someone grabbed my bag and he knocked the thief off their scooter and brought it back to me!"

"Did he now?" Alfred asked mildly impressed.

"Yup! But he didn't have a collar so we went to check the pound to see if anyone had called looking for him, but no one did. I just couldn't leave him there so we took him home until we can find his owner. You aren't upset, are you?" she asked a little timidly. While neither Bruce nor Alfred made her feel anything less than welcome, after all the time she spent there, she couldn't help but be a little unsure about her position in the house.

"Of course not. I would expect no less from you." Knowing his charge he added, "And Master Bruce will be fine with the situation, so don't worry about it."

"Thank you."

"What are your plans to find the owners?"

"We were going to put up posters around town and at the pound, but first, Ranma thought we should clean him up."

"And where is Master Ranma?"

"In his room." She looked down at the dog and then whispered conspiratorially, "I don't think the dog really likes him yet."

"I see. Well I think your plan is a good one. Might I suggest you also put out an advertisement in the paper and post his picture on-line? Gotham has a classified site with a section dedicated to missing pets."

"Oh, those are great ideas! I am almost done with the bath and we can take a picture of him then." She looked at the dog with her head cocked to the side. "I think we may need to trim his hair though, would you have a pair of scissors I can borrow?"

Imagining dog hair mixed into the disaster that was now the bathroom, the butler said, "Why don't I help you with that."

With Alfred's help, the rest of the process went rather quickly. Akane went into her closet and pulled out a yellow scarf with black detailing on it and wrapped it around P-Chan's neck. Ranma walked in just as she claimed him the 'cutest, most adorable, widdlest, thing to ever exist,' and snuggling him closely. While he couldn't agree with the sentiment, he had to admit it that the bath and hair cut proved was a vast improvement to how the animal originally looked. The pig-tailed boy privately thought he was still a pretty ugly.

* * *

Just as Alfred and Ranma predicted, Bruce found their encounter with the dog amusing and the dog itself rather interesting. He also had enough tact to not ask the teens how the thief got Akane's bag in the first place. He had his suspicions though and couldn't wait to get Ranma alone to confirm them, and of course, take the mickey out of him. After the incident with the Batcondoms, he had tried not to subject Akane to too much teasing as she was clearly unused to it. Ranma was a completely different matter though, and Bruce looked forward to giving him a hard time.

Unlike with Ranma, the dog seemed to like Bruce instantly. He surprised them all by obeying all of Bruce's commands, performing a series of tricks, before seemingly wanting to impress the Dark Knight with a series of back flips.

The dog ended up sleeping at the foot of Akane's bed that first night. While she had thought of letting him snuggle with her in bed, Alfred gently told her that she shouldn't spoil or grow attached to him as he wasn't her dog. In Ranma's opinion, it was too late as it was obvious she already loved the thing and would have kept him if she could. As it was, it would be very difficult for her to let go of P-Chan when they found the owners.

Despite and probably because of her love for the dog, she tried her best to find the owners. But as days turned into weeks, it seemed as if the entire household silently agreed to stop the search and call P-Chan theirs. Everyone adored him.

Well, almost everyone.

P-Chan brought Bruce his morning paper and sat as his feet while he worked on Wayne Enterprise business. He followed Alfred around faithfully, keeping him company while the two youngest were at school and almost never left Akane's side when she was at home. However, he had still not warmed to Ranma.

While completely house broken, the dog would occasionally have 'accidents' in the house but always in Ranma's room. The fact didn't go unnoticed by him. Every time Ranma was alone with Akane, the dog would eventually find them and wedge himself right between them. When the masked crusader tried to move him aside so he could snuggle closer to her, the dog would whimper as if he had been struck, causing Akane to admonish Ranma and coo at P-Chan. And the dog _still_ snapped at his hand. When he brought those things up to Akane, she brushed it off.

"He just has to get used to you, that's all."

Just then the dog came down the hall with Ranma's shoe – his favorite sneakers! – in his mouth. Fuming, Ranma pointed at the mutt.

"See?! He's never chewed up anyone else's shoes!"

"Ranma, don't be silly! He's a dog, he's not personally targeting you."

She bent down and took the shoe from the dog's mouth.

"P-Chan, _no_. _No_ chewing shoes."

The dog only lowered his head and whimpered a bit. Then he looked up at her from the corner of his eyes, the picture of shame. It took everything in her not to fold and cuddle him then and there, to tell him she wasn't really mad. But she stayed strong and stood up, handing Ranma back his now mangled shoe.

"He didn't mean it, he's still adjusting to us. Just give him a chance okay?"

She then gave him _that_ look. Her head tilted to the side, her eyes wide and vulnerable, her mouth forming just the slightest pout and Ranma was mush. She rarely used the look, which only added to its potency.

Ranma sighed deeply as he admitted defeat to himself. "Yeah, 'kay."

Smiling, Akane leaned up and gave him a kiss on his cheek before going to her room, leaving man and dog alone. They stared at each other for a moment, the mutt giving up any pretense of guilt. Then with what Ranma could only call a superior smirk, his tongue lolling out of his mouth again, he seemed to snort at the pig-tailed boy before following after the youngest Tendo, his tail wagging happily behind him.

* * *

One night the three super-heroes were in the field, taking down a wannabe gang of thieves trying to make their name in Gotham, hoping to be as notable as Joker or Penguin. It was almost too easy as the group was woefully unprepared, untrained, and underarmed. They were working on tying up the various members when the leader suddenly popped up and put a gun right at the back of Akane's head. Batman and Nightwing stopped what they were doing and could only stare at them, both trying to come up with a way to get her out of the situation.

Before Akane could make a move to disarm the gang leader, they heard a deep, menacing growl. Suddenly the criminal felt teeth chomp on her gun arm. The momentum of the black blur had taken her down and she howled in pain. The leader looked over to see blazing eyes and white teeth as the animal snarled at her. She tried to get her arm free but was stopped by an angry Batman who was tying her up a moment later. The Dark Knight reacted instantly, knowing where his protégé's priorities would be.

Nightwing had run to Akane as soon as she was free, looking her over to make sure she was unharmed and barely resisted the urge to give her a bone crushing hug. While intellectually he had known she wasn't ever truly in danger, the sight of her with a gun to her head had his fear overwhelming his senses.

"Are you okay?"

"I'm fine."

The trio finished tying up the rest of the crew, with the dog staying close to Akane's heels and growling fiercely at anyone who even twitched in her direction before heading back to the Batcave to debrief.

It was easy for both Bruce and Ranma to see that Akane was taking the events rather hard. She was curled up on a chair with P-Chan on her lap, the dog trying to comfort her.

"I'm sorry. I don't know what happened. I thought she was down," she said rather dejectedly.

"We all thought she was. It was a mistake," Ranma said wanting to comfort her.

"It was a rookie mistake. Not one of you would have made," she mumbled to herself, burrowing her face into P-Chan's fur.

"I've been doing this a lot longer than you have."

Bruce interrupted them. "You're right, it was a rookie mistake, but you _are_ a rookie." He put up a hand to stop her protest. "While you have been on some missions, you are new to this life. We will need to work on your awareness."

He didn't want her dwelling on the mistake but knew it was not the time for it. She was different from Ranma and he was a good enough mentor to know she needed to get her mind off the subject. And though he wouldn't admit it out loud, he was a little soft on her. That didn't negate his duties as a trainer and knew they would have to address the issue in length later, going through what happened with her in detail, and show her how to deal with a similar situation in the future, as it was part of the training.

Wanting to change the topic, he asked, "What was P-Chan doing there?"

"I don't know. He must have snuck into my saddle when I wasn't looking. I'm sorry, I won't let it happened again."

Part of her was scared that Bruce would make her give up the dog - he was so exacting when it came to field work - which was contributing to her mood.

"Well, in this case, he really helped out. He does seem to be rather good at thwarting thieves, doesn't he?"

Feeling a weight off her shoulders at the comment, she smiled. "Yes, he does." Scratching the dog on his belly, she cooed, "You're such a good boy! My little hero!"

Ranma, while glad she was feeling better, couldn't help but be a little put out. _He_ was the superhero, _her_ superhero, not that mutt.

* * *

A few days later, as they were planning their next op, Alfred walked into the Batcave followed along by P-Chan. Only the dog was wearing a Batcostume! Complete with custom-made body armor, a small cape, and domino mask, which hid the dogs unique bi-colored eyes. Shocked, Akane couldn't help but stare, her mouth agape, at the sight.

"Oh my! You look soo cute. But…what is all this?" she asked looking up at the three men.

"We thought that if P-Chan was going to go into action, he should be properly attired," Alfred said with a small smile.

"What? P-Chan's not coming with us, is he?"

"Not for every mission, but he did prove himself useful and we think he can be trained to be more helpful," Bruce said.

"Besides, he's proven that he can sneak out without our knowing it and this way he is protected," Ranma said.

Akane wanted to cry, the good kind of cry. She knew that Ranma didn't really like P-Chan, so the fact that he was concerned for her dog made her love him even more.

"But…" Ranma said interrupting her thoughts.

"But?"

"He can't go out there without a pseudonym. P-Chan is a very unique name, and we don't want anyone recognizing him and linking it all together," Bruce answered.

"Oh, of course."

The three men looked at her expectantly and she realized that she was being asked to come up with one.

"I'm not sure what we should call him." She was still trying to process everything. "Ranma, do you have any ideas?"

"Well, actually yes. How about Ace?"

"Ace? I like it." She bent down and asked the dog, "What do you think of Ace?"

P-Chan barked happily at the suggestion and started running around the cave, doing the occasional backflip and to the surprise of everyone, jumped onto to Ranma's lap and licked his face. Barking happily, he settled on Ranma's lap, sitting on his hind legs with his tongue lolling to the side as if preparing himself for the briefing.

Nightwing could only laugh at the goofy dog's enthusiasm before muttering, "Villians beware; Bathound is here to save the day."

* * *

 **A/N:** Before anyone asks, this is not Ryoga with a different Jusenkyo curse. It is an ordinary, although really smart dog. It seems wrong to have a universe where Akane doesn't have a P-Chan. And if there is a P-Chan, him and Ranma can't get along. At least at first. If you're wondering about the sudden change in P-Chan's attitude towards Ranma, Ranma had guessed the name his previous family called him.

For those wondering about P-Chan here is his back story: P-Chan was with his family as they were moving cross country. He had gotten loose at a rest stop and the family didn't notice. By the time they did, they went back but there was no sign of him. They left flyers and stuff but by then P-Chan had tried to find his way 'home'. It was lucky that Akane found him, as there would have been no one there had he gotten there. The dad trained K-9s for the police, which explains the why he is so well trained. The family misses him and will always love him and even though he's not being replaced, they'll be getting a new puppy soon.

A few months later, the kids were watching TV and saw a story on Gotham and its new K-9 vigilante. They recognized Ace immediately because of his distinctive tricks and excitedly called their parents over, who - being older and much more cynical - brush it off as coincidence with the hopes that it helps the kids move on. But from that moment on, the children were happy in the knowledge that Ace was okay.

Big thanks to **Jeremy Harper** and **Marie Allen** for their help betaing my story. You really don't want to see what this looked like before they had a look at it.


	6. Training Day

**A/N:** This takes place between Laundry Day and Say Yes to the Dress. It serves as counterpoint to Jeremy Harper's first chapter of Prince and Princess of Gotham.

* * *

 **Training Day**

Akane watched as Bruce, no Batman. _Batman_. She had to remember to think of him as Batman when he was in uniform. She suppressed a nervous giggle. She still couldn't believe she was training in the Batcave. She was living in Gotham in Wayne Manner, with billionaire Bruce Wayne and his Ward, Ranma Saotome. She was _engaged_ to Ranma.

It was all still so surreal.

She'd had months to get used to the idea, what with Ranma living in Japan and going to Furinkan for a while but now she was actually _here,_ she couldn't believe it. She looked around the cavernous room, filled with state of the art (well more advanced than anything civilians could get their hands on) technology and all the training equipment she could ever need. Some she had never seen before, like the salmon ladder that Ranma had shown her how to use the other day. At the memory, she automatically searched the cave for him. He had separated himself when they came down to do his own work out while Bruce was showing her how to use a Batarang.

Akane's mouth fell open slightly when she saw him. He was hanging from a bar, doing upside down sit-ups. Shirtless. It seemed that he was done as he flipped down a moment later. He stretched his neck from side to side and she couldn't help but stare. Ranma was only wearing loose work out pants, that had slipped very low on his hips showing off his six – no eight pack abs and the top of his Adonis belt. His body was covered in a light sheen of perspiration, which should have been unappealing but was oddly…arousing.

"Did you get all that, Akane?" Batman said in a tone louder than he would normally have used.

She jerked at the sound, and snapped her head back towards her mentor. "Wha-what?" she asked with a squeak.

Bruce suppressed a smile at the guilty look on her face and the sudden color in her cheeks that had nothing to do with their workout. He knew exactly where her mind had gone as he watched her gawking at Ranma. It amused him as he had caught Ranma doing the same a little bit earlier. Neither seemed to have a clue how the other felt about them, even though it was glaringly obvious to both Alfred and him (and probably everyone else who had seen them together). He sighed inwardly and thought, _Teenagers._

"Did you get everything I said about batarangs?"

Akane stared at him with apprehensive eyes. She was not only embarrassed that she had completely that last part of what he said but she was sure he caught her gawking. Plus, she had really _really_ wanted to make a good impression with Batman on this initial training and she blew it. He was going to think she wasn't taking this seriously! Unsure of what to do, she lied.

"Umm…yes?"

"Good." He handed her the batarang and pointed her to an open area. "Show me."

Akane nodded, took the weapon and walked forward with no idea what to do. She had caught the first part of what he said about the batarang, that it comes back like a boomerang. But he started talking about the weight and that's when she got…distracted. She weighed the weapon in her hand as she walked. When she reached the center of the practice ring, took a deep breath, and threw it. She waited while it curved into an arc and came back to her. She shot her hand up to catch it and…

"Oww!" Akane moaned after the batarang nicked her in the head. She rubbed the spot and glared at the offending weapon.

Out of the corner of his eye, Batman saw Ranma whip his head around at her exclamation before sprinting over. He watched on as Ranma pulled her close to check her head and even from his distance Bruce could see the blush forming furiously on her face. It was a sweet and innocent scene, something rare in his life, and he found himself smiling.

It wasn't so innocent for Akane but it was sweet. With the way Ranma held her head in his hands, she was getting an up close and personal view of those abs she was admiring earlier. Along with his pecs. And arms. She had to will her hands to stay still as she had an overwhelming desire to run her fingers along his stomach. His pecs. His arms. She was relieved and disappointed when he declared she was fine except for a knot on her head and released her.

Bruce's smile broke into a grin when Ranma apparently said something smart to Akane, because the next thing he knew, she pushed him away with a glare Ranma and smacked him on the shoulder. She quickly picked up the batarang before walking away.

Over her head the two males made eye contact. Through many years of fighting crime together it was easy for them to read each other without words. Ranma clearly understood Bruce's raised eyebrow to mean, _You've sure got a way with women._ Ranma only grinned unrepentantly at his mentor before antagonizing Akane further.

"Don't forget, Tomboy, you catch it with your hands not your head!"

Akane stiffened but didn't give him the satisfaction of acknowledging him. She was muttering darkly under her breath when she reached Bruce and he thought he heard the word, _jerk._

"Can you explain it to me again?" she asked through gritted teeth, her eyes flaring.

As he did, he couldn't help but smile inwardly. Ranma had shown little interest in girls through adolescence and Bruce always wondered what type of girl he would end up with. He watched as once again she tried her hand with the weapon. She swung it out and on its return, it slipped through her fingers.

"Hey, at least you didn't get hit this time!" Ranma yelled at her from where he was watching her.

In temper, Akane whipped the weapon at Ranma, whose eyes widened in surprise before he ducked just in time to have the batarang missing the top of his head by inches. Her eyes still mostly on Ranma, she reached up and caught it as it came back around. It took her a moment to realize what she did and then she jumped up and down in excitement. She looked towards Bruce and waved it excitedly at him, a big smile on her face.

 _Impressive,_ Bruce thought and made a mental note to work on her temper.

Bruce couldn't help but be pleased and amused that Ranma picked such a firecracker, who was smart and determined. Most importantly, she was no pushover and wouldn't take crap from anyone. Especially Ranma. A wide grin crossed Bruce's face. Yes, he was liking her more and more every day.

* * *

 **A/N:** Big shout out to Jeremy for his beta help, his inspiration for this one shot, and most importantly this fun little world he created.

Love it? Hate it? Leave a review and let me know.


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